In 2025, Enquire received Scottish Government funding to work alongside six local authorities to improve the information about additional support needs (ASN) on their websites. Nearly a year on, we reflect on learning from our conversations with partners and share a success story from Moray Council.
Enquire has been working collaboratively with additional support for learning (ASL) teams to offer guidance on how to ensure their websites are compliant with the ASL Act. This key piece of legislation lists the legal requirements and duties on those providing funded school or nursery places, including what information must be made available to families in the area. The Enquire Helpline often hears from families who want to be able to get the information they need from local sources but struggle to find it or if they do, feel it doesn’t always answer their questions. Communication about local ASN policy and arrangements for support is often the prevailing issue. For example, the key points affecting a family’s personal circumstances can be buried in lengthy policy documents. We saw an opportunity for Enquire to enhance what local authorities already provide to ensure families can access reliable information when they need it, while reducing the time ASN teams spend answering questions.
Making contacts, strengthening relationships
The first thing to do was to make introductions with our contacts across Aberdeen, Clackmannanshire, Inverclyde, Moray, Midlothian and the Western Isles. We spent time understanding each team’s unique perspectives and ambitions for the project, as well as pressures and challenges impacting their participation. We clearly defined what our advisory role would look like for each partner to put a supportive framework in place covering the length of the time we would be working together. The work we planned to undertake was built on mutual trust and understanding, and focused on the information about additional support for learning on our partner’s websites. This involved an initial review to capture what was published and where the gaps existed. We then shared our audit with them, highlighting where the essential requirements of the legislation lay and offering our support to proof-read and edit new and revised webpages.
Setting realistic goals
From an early stage, we accepted that progress on the project would ebb and flow in accordance with the time constraints and pressures on dedicated and hard-working ASL teams. It was also important to note all partners were not at the same starting point – one was starting from scratch, whilst another was in the process of drafting a new policy. A common constraint highlighted by everyone involved was the increasing and competing demands on the time and resources available to the ASL teams. We are appreciative of their honesty and willingness to dedicate some of these to this project.
Moray Council ASN Hub
The summer holidays have seen a flurry of activity. We’ve been meeting with as many partners as possible in August to evaluate progress and to take away learning for rolling out the project nationally to all 32 Scottish authorities. We are especially pleased to hear about Moray Council’s new ASN Hub for families. A new online resource, it has been specially developed to help families in Moray understand their rights and the support available locally. User-friendly, it has been developed with children and young people at the centre. Local parents have also been consulted as part of the work, along with the RAF Families Federation who represent the high volume of families in the area with serving parents stationed at RAF Lossiemouth. Moray report that the involvement of Enquire changed their approach to the task, ensuring information was child-focused and inclusive.
A national template for use
With more upgrades planned by other local authorities in autumn, our thoughts now turn to how to promote this work nationally. We’ve been developing templates for professionals to download from the Untangling ASL section of the Enquire website. In time, the hope is that this will give local authorities a starting point to adapt and repurpose provided text to ensure it reflects their context and experiences of their families. It’s been affirming to realise our shared values with local authorities and continue to grow the relationship as we add to this resource and present it across our shared networks.
Jennifer Higgins
Senior Advice and Information Officer
About JenniferJennifer is a Senior Advice and Information Officer at Enquire, overseeing the service’s written resources and leading their development. A qualified librarian, she has worked across heritage library services and previously served as an Advice & Communities Officer for the Kinship Care Advice Service for Scotland. There, she deepened her understanding of the value of accessible support for care-experienced families. She is passionate about helping people make the most of resources that support rights and wellbeing.
For those with children educated by Moray Council, why not have a look at their work so far on their new ASN Hub – and let us know how it benefits you.
If you work for a local authority and are interested in this work, contact Jennifer to find out more: jhiggins@childreninscotland.org.uk